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Many of you will still have vivid memories of the three-day hostage crisis at a school in Beslan, southern Russia, which resulted in the tragic death of 330 people, half of them children. Some of the traumatised children who survived the siege in September have just completed a four-week stay at a Czech spa and left for home on Wednesday.

As the phenomenal death toll continues to rise in the wake of Sunday's Indian Ocean catastrophe, over 200 Czechs are still unaccounted for. While efforts are being made to locate them, there was some good news on Tuesday, when the first plane-load of Czechs returned from disaster-hit Sri Lanka. There were emotional scenes as travellers, tired but relieved, were re-united with their families.

Sparta Prague ice hockey club celebrated its 100th year anniversary this year, making it one of the oldest sports clubs in Europe. It was in January 1904 that the club formed its first ice hockey team, which met on frozen lakes and ponds around Prague. Now a new book has just been published, documenting Sparta's long and very interesting history.

Together with the rise of the economy, Czechs tend to spent more money and buy ever more expensive products, which is particularly visible before the Christmas holidays. Last week it seemed that the shopping spree in Czech cities had reached its peak. But now Christmas is over and retailers are making an effort to get rid off their remaining stock. And this year the sales are starting much earlier than in previous years.

Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko have been celebrating his victory in the re-run of Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. However, his opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, is not giving up without a fight, saying his team will take thousands of complaints about how voting was conducted to court. But how fair was the vote really? Among the international electoral observers in Ukraine were 50 Czechs, including Ondrej Soukup of the charity People in Need. Does he believe the elections were fair this time?

Fireworks will be going off around the world in just a few days' time. But here in the Czech Republic there are also fears of explosions of a very different kind. No, this time we're not talking about the war on terror, but bombs and other ammunition left over from the Second World War and the time of the communist regime. Old ammunition keeps turning up and is causing a good few headaches.

One of the areas hit by devastating waves on Sunday was southern Thailand - a tourist paradise visited by thousands of vacationers including Czechs, who were in the region when the quake and the ensuing waves struck. Of the four hundred or so killed none were Czechs - but several Czech national were injured and others remain missing.

More than 21,000 people are known to have died after a massive underwater earthquake sent giant tidal-waves crashing into coastlines across Southern Asia. Information is still scarce on the fate of tens of thousands of holidaying foreigners, including up to a thousand Czechs. On Monday morning Czech government officials met to coordinate the Czech Republic's aid to the disaster-stricken areas in Southern Asia, and also provide assistance to Czech nationals stranded in the areas.

"Byl jednou jeden kral" — once upon a time, there was a king — the opening line for many a classic fairytale. While all peoples have their folk tales and legends, from the Arabian Nights to the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, in few cultures have fairytales won such an honored and beloved a place as they enjoy in the hearts of the Czech people, certainly at Christmas time.

Toulcuv dvur has a long history and dates back to at least 1362. Under Empress Maria Theresa it was a sheep farm and, more recently, the Communists used it for industrial purposes. Now, though, it is an environmental education centre for children. Here, Nikola Brabenec visits Toulcuv dvur, and finds out you can visit a farm without having to leave Prague.